Congressman John Garamendi Leads Letter to the Bureau of Reclamation Urging Additional Funding for Sites Reservoir

September 9, 2018

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman John Garamendi, a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, sent a letter to the Bureau of Reclamation urging it to allocate $37.4 million for Sites Reservoir in fiscal year 2019. The letter was signed by 16 other Democratic members of the California Congressional delegation.

“I’m very pleased that the California Water Commission recently awarded $816 million to the Sites project. Federal support will be essential to moving this vital project toward completion,” said Garamendi. “This letter shows that Sites has broad support from just about every part of the state and will hopefully convince Reclamation to award additional funding to supplement the state of California’s investment.”

Sites is a multipurpose project that will help California’s drought resilience and provide 1.8 million acre-feet of new water for both human and environmental uses. Dollar for dollar, it’s the most efficient storage project in the state, and it deserves a federal investment.”

“Sites is a smart and long overdue water supply investment for California and the nation,” said Sites Project Authority Chairman Fritz Durst.

“Building on the endorsement from the California Water Commission earlier this week, these federal funds will help advance the Sites Project, which offers the unique benefit of improving water quality and habitat conditions in the Sacramento River and Delta while at the same time providing significant water supply for cities, farms, and families alike.”

The funding was authorized by S.612, the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WII) Act of 2016, which Garamendi helped author.